Wally had already deduced roughly seventy to eighty percent of the medicinal preparation’s ingredients, and there shouldn’t be any mistakes.
As for the twenty different Berry materials in front of him, Wally recognized every one of them.
That alone had solved more than half of the problem for him.
This examination was no longer difficult.
All that remained was to analyze the burn on Oddish.
Different Pokémon, different moves, different environments, and even different Berries could potentially cause Oddish to suffer from a burn.
Understanding the actual cause and condition of Oddish’s injury would provide valuable guidance for determining the proper treatment.
Solving the problem did not mean solving it perfectly.
What Wally wanted was the best possible solution.
In other words, he was aiming for a perfect score.
“Interesting…
but this should be right.”
As Wally murmured to himself, his mind rapidly worked through the possibilities.
A moment later, a gleam appeared in his eyes.
Without hesitation, he picked up a red Berry with his right hand and began peeling it with the small knife beside him.
“Looks like he’s found a way to solve it.”
On the other side, Wallace still hadn’t hurried to begin.
He seemed completely confident, as though victory were already within his grasp.
This was closely related to his personality—everything had to be done with elegance and grace.
In reality, all the other examinees had also begun working.
Most of them had already found a direction to pursue.
Even if their approaches differed somewhat, they were all methods capable of alleviating the burn.
As for whose treatment would be more effective, that would have to be determined by the final examination results.
The surroundings were silent.
The only sounds were the rustling movements of the examinees as they worked busily.
Berries, leaves, medicinal herbs, pollen, and all kinds of different materials were being combined in their hands.
…
…..
“How many people do you think will pass this examination?”
The proctors had also gathered together and begun discussing the examinees.
“Seven or eight, perhaps?”
“Personally, I’m looking forward to seeing the results of those two.”
The speaker was Nurse Joy, who had been responsible for proctoring Wally and the others during the first stage.
“Oh?
Those two youngsters are indeed remarkable, but I have higher expectations for Wallace.”
“The three of them are all extraordinary.
If I’m not mistaken, there’s a very good chance that the top three places will come from among those three.”
Finally, the person in charge spoke.
“That boy named Wally was apparently recommended to take the examination by Professor Birch.
And Joy is none other than Professor Birch’s student.”
Those words immediately startled the proctors who hadn’t known about it.
“So that’s how it is.
No wonder someone so young can already possess such impressive abilities.
It turns out he has a connection to Professor Birch.”
The proctors continued observing the examinees as time passed little by little.
Soon, more than half of the allotted time had already gone by.
“He’s almost finished.”
Wally was grinding the medicinal herbs on the table with a wooden pestle.
He recognized every herb in front of him.
That feeling filled Wally with emotion.
After combining the medicinal properties, he believed that he had arrived at the most perfect formulation possible.
“Looks like reading all those books really was worthwhile.”
Wally shook his head, his hands moving even faster.
As time passed, Wally felt no pressure at all.
His movements instead flowed smoothly, one after another.
Finally—
Snap!
He stopped.
It was finished.
Looking at the blue paste in front of him, Wally wasn’t particularly impressed by its appearance.
But he was certain that it would have an extremely powerful effect on Oddish’s burn.
Taking a deep breath, Wally applied the blue ointment to Oddish’s affected area and then raised his hand.
“That boy has finished!”
Wally wasn’t the first person to finish, but he wasn’t slow either.
There was no need to wait until the examination period ended; the proctors could begin inspecting completed treatments ahead of time.
The proctors knew the examination subject inside and out.
Anyone qualified to serve as a proctor was at least an Intermediate Pokémon Breeder, so the knowledge being tested in this Junior Pokémon Breeder examination naturally posed no difficulty for them.
“I’ll do it.”
Nurse Joy, who had been watching Joy and Wally closely, walked over and began examining Wally’s work.
At this point, just over ten minutes had passed.
When Nurse Joy approached, Wally stepped aside.
Nurse Joy picked up Oddish and carefully examined its condition.
It wasn’t long before she put Oddish back down and gave Wally a deep look.
“Congratulations.
Your result is quite good.”
She smiled.
Clearly, Wally’s performance had satisfied her.
“Does that mean I’ve passed?” Wally asked.
“Not yet.”
She smiled.
“The remaining ointment you prepared still needs to be examined by the other proctors.
I was only conducting the first evaluation to make sure nothing unexpected happens to Oddish.”
“The final results will be announced after everyone has finished.”
“I understand.”
Wally nodded and looked around.
Joy had finished as well, while Wallace had completed his work slightly earlier than Wally.
More than ten minutes had now passed, and the examination had entered its final stage.
There was nothing left for Wally to do, so he quietly waited.
A few minutes passed quickly, and the examination finally came to an end.
The other examinees waited anxiously for the results, but Wally and the others remained relaxed.
Walking toward Joy, Wally could hear the examinees discussing their deductions.
Several of them had arrived at rather well-reasoned conclusions, but there were also some bizarre answers.
For example, some claimed that the burn had been caused by Will-O-Wisp, while others thought it had been caused by Ember.
“Wasn’t it a burn caused by intense sunlight?”
As soon as Joy met up with Wally, she eagerly shared her conclusion.
“That’s right.”
Her answer was the same as Wally’s.
The burn caused by the medicinal preparation was at least ninety-nine percent similar to the effects of Sunny Day.
Hearing that Wally had reached the same conclusion, Joy breathed a sigh of relief.
Although she was confident in herself, she had still wanted to confirm her answer with Wally.
“Looks like both of you did pretty well.”
At that moment, Wallace also walked over and smiled at the two of them.
The three exchanged smiles.
With their scores from the written examination, the second stage naturally hadn’t posed much of a problem for them.
Now, all they had to do was wait for the final results.
The proctors completed their evaluations quickly.
They didn’t have to wait long before the middle-aged man in charge walked over with the results sheet.
“Now, I’ll announce the examinees who have passed this examination.”
“There are ten of them in total.
They are—”
“Wallace, 100 points!”
“Joy, 100 points!”
“Wally, 100 points!”
The ten successful examinees were announced in order of their scores.
One person had scored 98 points, while the lowest passing score was 87.
Everyone else had scored below 85 and therefore failed.
“A perfect score…”
Hearing his result, Wally finally breathed a sigh of relief.
With this, he was officially a Pokémon Breeder!
Four years of hard work had not been in vain.
He really wanted to tell everyone at Verdanturf House the good news, but now wasn’t the best time.
Being a Junior Pokémon Breeder wasn’t enough.
It represented far too little.
Wally understood that he still had a long road ahead of him.
He would have to advance to Intermediate, then Master, and perhaps one day even pursue the pinnacle of the Breeder profession—the rank of Master Breeder.